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We recently moved! Our new place is in Kiyosumi Shirakawa, not too far from our last place in Kiba. The new place is a bit smaller, and has much less storage space. I am usually good at sorting and throwing out excess stuff but it is a different story when it comes to sewing supplies and patterns. I had hard time deciding what to take and what not to take. Even supplies like buttons, I had to stop and think, “will I regret throwing this out?” I had about 6 boxes full of fabrics, threads, pattern files on top of three sewing machines including one industrial machine. Thankfully we had a mover who helped carry the sewing machine that weighted more than 80kg(!) up to fifth floor without an elevator.

In the current house I have one tall locker and three clear plastic drawers to fit everything from the built in closet I had previously. It is amazing how much stuff I accumulated in the past few years. I had to say good buy to a lot of fabric left overs that are less than 1m (let’s face it, what kind of clothes can you really make with 50cm of chiffon?), sewing patterns that I’ve sewn once for myself and hadn’t touched for a few years. I had so much that I began forgetting that I have some left overs and would end up buying new ones so I think it was a good move to just say good bye. Also I reviewed many self drafted patterns from years ago and chucked them because they were not well-drafted or the styles are out-dated. I realized as long as I have a basic bodice block that is well-drafted, you can create most styles.

The move was long (took 9 hours) but I’m thrilled with our new place! It’s in a fun neighborhood with many small businesses and I’m looking forward to get involved.

For those who are in Japan, please join me in my second event in collaboration with the local flower shop, AFRIKA ROSE and a wedding dress designer, Satomi of Rachel Bridal. Satomi and I are each showcasing three new rose themed wedding dresses at AFRIKA ROSE, which specializes in selling Kenyan made roses. This year’s theme is “aroma”.

I’d love to see you there. Event is completely free! Check out the facebook event page here. You can see the recap of the last year’s event in this blog post.

Besides the obvious sewing items like scissors and pin cushion, there are two items I keep on hand at all times. They are masking tape and tracing paper. Here are some ways they can make your sewing process easier.

Tracing Paper

I use it when I sew clear elastic band (to avoid fabric from over stretching) , laminated fabrics or leather. For clear elastic (pictured above), I layered the strip of tracing paper on top of clear elastic so the clear elastic does not stick to the sewing foot. I sewed lace, clear elastic and tracing paper together. Once you are done with the seam, just rip the paper to remove it.

Masking Tape

1. Use it to mark the right side of fabric.

Some fabrics are hard to tell which side is right and which side is wrong. In order to avoid mistakes, I cut a piece of masking tape and put it on the right side of the fabric as I cut the pattern pieces.

2. Write down the needle size

I often get confused with what needle I’m currently using. I change the needle and keep using it, completely forgetting if it’s 11, 9, or a ball point needle. Sewing needle sizes are hard to tell from just looking at the needle. Now I have a solution. Whenever I change a needle, I write down the needle size on a masking tape and stick it right above the needle so I know exactly what I’m using.

3. Cover the edge side of bones

Instead of creating a bone channel, I use a plain white masking tape to cover the edges of bones and sew it directly on fabric. This only works for plastic bones like the ones shown in the picture, not the steel bones.